It's amazing that for a weak team that the Cali Girls was that they have managed coasting this far into the race. If not for No Limits' help in last episode, the Cali Girls would have gone instead of Country Boys.

The California Girls did overstay their welcome based on pure talent, but ability to draft off other teams can sometimes keep a team in longer than they truly deserve. However, in the case of episode 7, my recap says this:

"The second team No Limits had lost their map, so they teamed up and offered the clue solution to the California Girls, who joined up with them for the remainder of this episode."

If No Limits had not teamed up with the Cali Girls, No Limits would have been the team eliminated because they did not know where to go.

This is the episode which will determine which 4 teams will make it to the finale next episode and which one team will be eliminated. Ike of No Limits still has a huge handicap of his ankle hurting but being on the water allows his team to prosper with, well, No Limits. The rolled ankle of John of the Gypsies is hurting him a little. The Football Players are water-averse.

The first leg was to select a guide and a boat to paddle and the initial lead of the Gypsies put them ahead. The cops got stuck on a rock and fell 20 minutes behind. At the first checkpoint was a word puzzle on a lock which had to be solved to obtain a map and supplies. The puzzle was “what do you go into, between and over?” In order to fit a 5 letter word to match the number of dials, the answer was “banks.” At that point the guide was jettisoned and the teams had to paddle on their own through some brown gunk on top of the water. Once they reached a landing area, they had to trek 1.2 miles uphill to Rocky Beach. At this point the Football Players were in last place.

The Cops did something stupid with implications beyond what they could have imagined. The Personal Flotation Device required for being on the water had been tied onto Jim’s green backpack by Dani, but it came loose and he was at the rear of his group, so he did not see it for a while. In the interim the Football Players found it and brought it forward because they thought it belonged to their allies Fab 3, but when Robert saw Jim looking for it he immediately dropped it and wished he had not touched it.

At this point in the race the Gypsies were in first and the other 4 teams were approximately tied for second. Next was an overland hike 2 miles to Widow’s Peak. There was a difficult challenge, to rappel down about 200 feet of cliff to reach a cave. In that cave were various pottery one of which having a symbol which matched one of each team’s directions. The Gypsies matched first and left with the instructions they took out of the pottery. Fab 3 was close behind. Football Players were 3rd. The Cops beat No Limits to find their match, but they did not understand the instructions and did not know where to go or what to do to reach the Finish Line. All they needed to do was to pull them out of the pottery

No Limits was slow but knew where to go. The Cops caught sight of them just before the Finish Line, but by then it was too late. No Limits finished 4th and captured the last spot in the finale. The Cops made too many mistakes and were out.

It was ironic that The Cops were done in by the combination of their first mistake (losing the PFD) and their second mistake (not knowing where to find the directions on a match they had solved). For the second week in a row, No Limits has had exceptional luck to stay in the competition.

I enjoyed watching the finale, as well as the final results. I liked the Gypsies, and based on the show's editing, figured they would win. But I would have been more happy with a No Limits win.The tasks were good and thought-provoking and proved which two teams really deserved to be racing for the prize. If No Limits had not taken a wrong turn at the beginning of their door search, they probably could have won.Another thing worth mentioning is the raising of the flag thing. Why was that not mentioned at the starting line? It seems like it was something that could have been mentioned on every leg, like taking down the team's flag when they were eliminated (come to think of it, teams always stood around some sort of flagpole when the evacuation helicopter came, didn't they? ). This feature would have been more interesting had it been mentioned throughout the show.

All in all, the show was good, but it will not replace TAR (nothing will ). The editing improved as the show went on, but the fact that the Gypsies dominated probably means that all the tasks were too similar throughout the Race. It probably deserves to be renewed as a summer show. I would watch the next season.

This is my third try at getting the system to take this. I am modern-day victim of "the dog ate my homework" syndrome. Hopefully it gets better each time I write it.

EXPEDITION IMPOSSIBLE Finale

This episode started with the announcement that one of the final 4 teams would be eliminated on the course. The teams had to trek down to the shore of the large lake, select a rowboat, and paddle or row it for 2 miles to the first checkpoint. Football Players were OK until they reached the water, but then they were a disaster. The Gypsies were off fast even though they did not enjoy any advantage at the start. No Limits made up time lost due to Ike's ankle on land in the rowboat.

At the checkpoint, it was Gypsies, Fab 3, No Limits, Football Players. The task here was to sift dirt to find 2 amethyst crystals and then trade those for Arabian stallions. All teams did well at this, then rode off into the sunset (not quite). The first 3 teams did OK riding their horses, but Akbar of the Football Players fell and injured himself. From what I saw, it would have made no difference and they would have finished last anyway, but all 3 Football Players walked to the checkpoint and were eliminated.

The next task was to hike to a parking area where Ford Explorer SUVs awaited to be driven to the souk in Marrakesh 22 milers away. Teams got a clue to find an ancient above-ground tomb and once there they were given a map. No Limits took a long time to find that tomb. Locals were helping them try to catch up. The next destination was the ancient palace prison, but to get there required many twists and turns and level changes. Once found teams were sent to find a Moroccan puzzle box and then to solve it. First to do that was the Gypsies, who then only had to rappel down off a roof and run to the Finish Line. No Limits recovered and finished a close second. Fab 3 was third.

The winning team got $50,000 each plus a new Ford Explorer SUV, worth a total of about $270,000.

I thought the best thing about the series was that it was mostly a skills-based competition. Even the task with the doors in the finale wasn't all about luck. No Limits had the right idea about asking children about the doors, while Fab 3 got really lost asking adults.

It's too bad the ratings weren't that good. I like skills-based shows and adventure shows, and it's too bad that these types of shows usually don't do well in the US.